Germany to Buy U.S. Tomahawk Missiles and Host Them on Its Territory

Germany will purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States and station them on German soil, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on July 9. Merz told lawmakers he had sealed the agreement with the U.S. government on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara.

The meetings took place on July 7 and 8 and exceeded his expectations. "We are closing a critical strategic gap in our defence, while simultaneously working to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe," Merz said. German government sources said Washington committed to granting approval in August for Germany to procure the missiles and corresponding ground-based Typhon launchers.

A letter of intent was signed on July 7. The number of missiles and launchers remains classified. Germany's Taurus cruise missiles have a range of around 500 km, three to five times shorter than the Tomahawks.